The Angels have selected outfielder Jon Jay from their alternate site and placed outfielder Dexter Fowler on the 60-day injured list, the team announced. In other moves, the Angels placed catcher Max Stassi (left thumb sprain) and outfielder Juan Lagares (calf) on the 10-day IL, and they recalled backstop Anthony Bemboom.
The 36-year-old, whom the Angels signed to a minor league contract before the season, has put together a respectable career going back to his Cardinals debut in 2010. However, his numbers plummeted from 2018-20 with the Royals, Diamondbacks and White Sox. He hit a miserable .160/.211/.240 in 57 trips to the plate with Arizona last year, though Jay will get a chance to rebound beginning tonight with Fowler out for the season and both Lagares and Justin Upton (back stiffness) dealing with injuries.
Stassi has typically been known for his defensive acumen, but he has come alive at the plate since 2020. Including a red-hot start this season, Stassi has slashed .292/.371/.538 with eight home runs – albeit over a small sample of 124 PA and 38 games. Bemboom and Kurt Suzuki will handle the catching duties while Stassi is out.
Wow. Justin Upton is injured again. Who would’ve thought? I see that $100+ million contract is paying off nicely. I guess $26 million a year doesn’t buy what it used to.
He misses a game because of back stiffness and that makes him injury prone.
The guy has had one injury. He took a long time coming back from that injury, but he’s had one.
You people are nuts.
Still, it’s a terrible contract
You mean terrible trade. They extended him one year at a lower AAV.
Well, when they traded for him they took on (and then extended) a terrible contract
They extended him one extra year at a lower AAV. If you are going to trade for him, the one year extension made sense.
Upton was coming off his 29 year old where he had a career year and he was able to opt out of his contract. The Angels had no protection behind Trout. Upton could have received $21 million per year from numerous teams had he opted out with the production he just put up at 29 years old. The Angels wanted to give Trout protection and sweetened the pot by adding a year. It made perfect sense at the time but obviously the Captain Hindsights of world always come out of the woodwork when injuries happen.
MrAngelsfan, u nailed it!
Nah. I don’t need hindsight, I’m generally against committing money to players much past 30, or based on a career year.
@Cosmo2 Then you must be a guy that never wants to take a chance on a FA since most are approaching 30 wen they first become FA. Every signing is a roll of the dice and there will always be risk. Sometimes they payoff, often times they don’t. Take the Diamondbacks for example. They traded for Schilling and signed Randy Johnson in their mid to late 30s and won the WS. Obviously they would have never won if they didnt like taking risk like you, but it worked out for them.
Mr. Angel: You’re first sentence is basically correct. My belief: no mega deals and only sign position players under 30. The age curve for pitchers seems a bit more flexible.
@Cosmo2 There is nothing wrong with standing pat. Angels had their greatest success with the WS in 2002 without any huge FA deals. I still like the big FA signings. It does bring excitement to the fan base. I just wished that Arte would spend big a little more on pitching.
That was a desperation sign at the eppler Era. Needed a bat before othani and Rendon showed. I cringed when it happened. Goo Angels!!3
I saw a movie once called “Goo Angels”. It wasn’t about baseball…..
How did it end? Goo Angels!
I’m guessing it had a happy ending!
Upton had just come off possibly his best season, and the Angels finally found a good player to put in LF after going through several different left fielders since Garrett Anderson left. It was the right move to make at the time. He had a good first season for them, and then suffered a major injury for the first time in his career. Playing a 60 game season in 2020 didn’t help either because he was red hit down the stretch after a horrible start. I’m pretty sure he would’ve put up good numbers had last season been a full 162.
If Jon Jay gets hurt he’ll be replaced by Ryan Ludwick. Then Kerry Robinson.
I’m rooting for Rick Ankiel.
Tito Landrum!
Tito!! Lol
only former cubs and rays apply.
Skip Schumaker is stretching out.
Can anyone get Matt Holliday on the phone?
Tim Salmon on Line 2
Colby Rasmus Dad
Perry’s moves to add depth being tested right away. We are much more prepared to handle position player injuries than pitcher injuries, so let’s hope the pitchers continue to stay healthy.
Two weeks down, 38 to go.
John Jay is depth?
I’d rather have Taylor Ward or Schebler and neither had anything to do with Perry.
The fact that we’re even arguing over which option is better is proof that the Angels have built up decent position player depth.
And for what it’s worth, I also would rather see Ward. Also, Perry did sign Schebler. It was his first signing.
Schebler was signed before Perry signed on.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/11/angels-sign-scott-schebler.html
Read the last paragraph.
Thank you. I was under the impression he signed before Perry came on board. Your added depth comment is noted. That said, why are we losing this game with Merrifield and Jay in the line up? That isn’t depth, it’s two people that should be on a major league roster.
There are a lot of holes in this lineup
We lost this game because we couldn’t get a hit with RISP. 12 hits and two runs? No good. Sure, some of that is due to 1/3 of our lineup being out. But even considering that, we deserved more than two runs. Overall, I feel pretty happy with how this team is playing in the early going.
Astros just announced half of their lineup went on IL,
I cant believe Ward is not already in there.
But if they bring Ward up to play RF and he does well then the Angels are going to have to deal with the uncomfortable optics of benching him or Walsh every time they roll AP out there.
It’s possible they want work working out with the majority of the team. It probably is for development than the taxi squad.
Bottom of the order mayfield and Jay had plenty of chances and squandered runners in scoring position give that loss to management For not calling up Schebler and Ward
Need catching depth? Johnathon lucroy is available…………….
Not giving Ward a job is criminal. He changed positions, remade his swing completely and had RAKED, it is no coincindence (if you watch the games) that the angels feel elite when Pujols, Fowler and Jay are not in the lineup and you are giving the young bucks a shot. It feels as if Perry’s big contribution is not starting people based on pomp and past performace. These injuries are testing that, I hope Ward and Rengifo get ABs next week.
To be fair, @J.H. depth is the last thing addressed by a GM. We’re seeing much the same thing with the white sox & Blue Jay’s. Those clubs have had a couple pretty good off-seasons the last couple years yet are struggling to paper over some injuries (in particular the sox).
Quality, usable depth takes time to develop.
Easy for me to preach patience as the Angels are not my squad. But…gotta be patient.
Where is Jo Adell?????
Exactly! If you’re gonna gamble on a .160 hitter in Jon Jay, why not call up Jo Adell and let him flourish under the coaching of Trout & Pujols? We know he can play outfield, just let him get to see more big league pitching and watch him grow.
Have you seen Adell play outfield? He is a liability!
No way is Adell coming up until he does well at AAA.
The reason the Angels traded for Fowler is that they don’t think Adell’s ready. Fowler’s injury doesn’t suddenly make Adell ready. He needs time at AAA.
They were not going to let him fail twice. He’ll be up… after he hits at AAA.
The whole point in keeping Adell down was because he obviously was not ready for the majors last season. He needs more time in the minors. He would not have even been in the majors last year if it weren’t for the minor league season being canceled. He’s already burned a year of control, so it isn’t service time. So why rush him again when he obviously isn’t ready and the whole point in keeping him down to start was to allow him more time to develop?
Do you realize Adell had a higher OPS in spring training than Rojas, and Rojas hit his way on the team.
And on the subject of Rojas, I never thought Adell looked lost at the plate, Rojas looks lost.
I don’t know if Adell is ready or not, but it doesn’t make any sense to let him fail again.
Spring training doesn’t mean squat. It was just a trial run for testing adjustments that Adell would practice at AAA to make sure he was ready. Rojas has already put up the numbers at AAA. That’s why he was called up first this season.
@King Maybe educate yourself on the MLB’s taxi squad and COVID rules. Your answer is in there!!!!
Why not just bring up Jo Adell and let him flourish under Trout and Pujols to help with his hitting? Dude can already play defense we’ve seen that last year. Just needs to face some big league arms to get into a rhythm.
if it’s that simple then how did it not work last year.
Adell was horrible defensively last year, and this Spring. Dude is clearly not ready.
Not particularly on topic, but my query is about Angels. I don’t see many Angel games, but just wondering about Ohtani. Is he the DH when he pitches? Also, I presume he will be in the rotation every 5 games? After he pitches, how many days off does he get before he is back in the lineup as DH, or as a position player. Such a great talent, it would be tough to keep his bat out of the lineup for very long.
No one really knows. We can only guess.
He did hit when he pitched one game.. and supposedly the team is on a six pitcher rotation..
But it’s just one game, and he got a little banged up on the last play of the game.
And he didn’t play the game after he pitched.
We just don’t know yet.
Ohtani only pitched one game and he batted 2nd and hit an HR in his first at bat. He is playing DH almost every day and has missed his last pitching start because of a blister.
Chalk, Do you know Dave Chalk is the answer to my favorite baseball trivia question?
“The Plan” pre-blister was for Sho to pitch and hit once a week and DH all other days except for the day after a start. When he pitches and hits the Angels forfeit the DH so they have no DH in those games and must pinch hit for the pitcher’s slot like in the NL.
Thanks @hoss.
After the way he is hitting, is that still the plan? No one knows if he’s going to sit the day after he pitches. No one knows if he is going to hit the night before he pitches a day game. Anyone who says they know knows more than Maddon.
It’s a fluid situation.
That was “The Plan” If you deny that I’ll post links that show that was the plan. Why the F are you so combative when you are proven wrong? Take your medicine kiddo.
I’m combative? Seriously? I keep reading there are no rules.
Seriously? I watch a lot and read a ton. You comment a lot. Mostly with bad results. Nothing personal, but that was the Plan.
That’s fine. But do you actually think you KNOW how they are going to use Ohtani? That’s incredibly arrogant. John Maddon doesn’t even know how he is going to use Ohtani.
If he hits while he’s pitching, then the Angels don’t get a DH for those games.
Once Ohtani is pulled from the mound, then he’s out of the game entirely unless he can suddenly start playing elsewhere on the field, while the Angels are then forced to continue pinch-hitting or double-switching for the pitcher’s spot for the rest of the game unless they don’t let Ohtani hit at all.
They don’t DH Ohtani when he pitches because by letting the pitcher hit, they lose the DH spot for the entire game. I believe they also try to rest him from his DH role the day before he pitches as well. Since they are trying to pitch him every 6 days, that should mean 4 days at DH and two days off.
6 man rotation and he has DH’d when he pitches. Although CC Sabathia, made the point that the real risk is that its very hard for a pitcher to run the bases and then come pitch one-out later. Its easy for traditional pitchers because they normally strike out. Ohtani is running around the bases like Spiderman.
John Jay is awful. I would have preferred Schebler.
Absolutely what was Joe Maddon thinking he should’ve brought up Schebler
@Geno55. You DO realize Maddon doesn’t promote or demote any of the players, right? He’s the field manager, not the GM, and he just makes out the lineup card from the players the GM gives him.
I think he has influence.
Jay played for Joe Maddon Perry is a rookie GM Joe Maddon is a veteran manager I think Joe Maddon Called that shot
Schebler was not on the taxi squad. Therefore not available for several days.
The better question is “why didn’t they call up Taylor Ward?” He plays corner OF, 3B, and C… exactly the holes the Angels need to fill given Fowler/Langares’, Rendon’s, and Stassi’s injuries respectively.
I would have preferred Ward. John Jay?
Because of the taxi squad rules.
Hoss. Thank you for that information. Why not?
This is a better question than Adell. Ward had a great finish last year and a decent spring. Would much rather see him than Jay or Lagares.
Schebler
Because you can’t just add any player on the 40 man while on a road trip this season. I don’t think the Angels planned on using the entire taxi squad for a 7 game road trip.
Justin Upton contract is awful.. like most contracts over 100 million.
You mean the trade was awful. Most people didn’t think so at the time. They extended him one year at a lower AAV.
Like George Springer and Toronto Blue Jays
There sure a LOT of people on this forum who don’t know how taxi squads work this year. Each team gets 5 players to bring with them on road trips and the Angels have had to add all of them to deal with the injuries in the last 3 days. It will be interesting to see who gets called up from the alt site when they get back to Anaheim on Thursday.
Worst throw. It’s not like we have a lot of experiences with these taxi squads. Typically, theses players are in AAA. This is not exactly something we have a history with.
Wait…. so you’re saying that if the player is not on the taxi squad they cant be brought up to the 25 man roster while on a road trip? Even if they are on the 40 man already?
Only players on the taxi squad can join the team while they are on a road ? What about at home?. Do they have a taxi squad or a squad for replacement players there too?
Google it.
I still cant find anything that says ONLY players from the taxi squad may be added to the roster on road trips. Not saying its not true….In fact it would go along way in explaining some of these moves….so I’m assuming it’s correct. Just wanted to verify it.
Reacher, It’s useful information. Too bad hoss is a butt head.
https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-mlb-announces-health-and-safety-protocols-for-2021-season
I’ve forgotten more about Angels baseball than you’ll ever know. (Bobby Knight/Hoss)
Maddon explained that only players on the taxi squad are eligible to be added to the roster during road trips and that the club went with veteran players over younger players so that the inexperienced players would get more playing time at the alternate training site in Arizona. So the Angels had to go with Jay over Taylor Ward, even though Ward was already on the 40-man roster.
“We have confidence in our taxi squad and we’ve been tested by having to use all five,” Maddon said. “We feel good about our backups, whether it’s here or those back in Arizona right now. We just want the pitching staff to stay intact and we can manipulate the position players a lot more readily. … But yeah, we’d love to get back to the point where you could just pick and choose whomever at that particular moment.”
I’m sure he did. I don’t live in SoCal, the closest stadium is about 200 miles away. I don’t have access to Angel radio, pre\post game shows. I get to watch the games because I have MLB extra innings. Which starts two minutes before the game and ends two minutes after the game.
I don’t feel the least bit embarrassed I didn’t know how taxi squads worked.
I’m jealous. I wish I lived that far from Cali. Maybe tone down your Angels commentary until you verify what you are going to say is actually true.. More people will like you on this site.
Hoss, I do appreciate knowledge, You are definitely one of them, and like me you have a bit of an edge.
Sounds like a good topic for a MLBTR post to explain how this unusual arrangement works.
The Angels’ roster/payroll just seems too top heavy. Makes it hard for the organization to adjust and fill needs in the off season. In my opinion it shows why these big contracts are more hindrance than they’re worth.
currently have $14 mil under tax threshold.
Not enough wiggle room. Sure, they could sign someone and still be under the threshold, but there’s not enough room to truly maneuver. They need more than one 14 million dollar guy, or two 7 million guys….
Cosmo, double it at the trade deadline. They could get a 28m player if they choose. Is that a good player? Hahaha
They aren’t filling enough holes with minor leaguers. So they get guys like Pujols, Wells, Upton & Rendon, but that costs real money, and are short-term solutions at best. Even Rendon, who looks good today, will likely decline. Bad contracts like Pujols will drop off, but by that time, Rendon will be considered a bad contract.
Lol JoeBrady, so next year Pujols contract expires. So then now Rendon”s contract is bad? Hahaha, to funny. Rendon will be fine for a handful of years, he’s still young.
Rendon is 31 right now. That’s basically where noticeable decline begins and it’s often not gradual, but rather sudden. So will Rendon be “fine for a number of years”? I wouldn’t think so. He’s not that young at all in baseball terms.
Cosmo, this is the 21st century bro. Really good position players tend to do just fine till there mid 30’s. If he were more of a speed dependant player, I could see your point, but he’s not. Now a pitcher, you always have some concerns, at any age in a long term contract. That said, Rendon should age well with his skill set. Excellent bat to ball skills and takes his walks. Ty
Your statement that really good position players do well into their mid thirties is simply not true. Even amongst the greats, all star level play after 31 is rare and most are shells of their former selves by 32 or 33, certainly by 34. If you take a random sampling of great players you’ll see this to be true. Banking on players to continue their prime past 30 is a fools game.
Oh yeah, simple comp. Justin Turner, not as good of a player as Rendon before 30, and looks like Rendon after 30, to 36 years of age. That said, If Rendon gets better in those years, he’d be an MVP. 😉
SWEET STASSI MOLASSY!